Get Cooking!
Don your chef’s hat and head for the Arte Culinaria cookery school in Cison. Here, Antonella Taglia pietra combines lessons with fascinating tours to local markets, wineries and medieval villages.
Via dall’Oglio, Cison di Valmarino (0438 975510 www.arteculinaria.it).
Mess about on the river
Book a boat trip with I Battelli del Brenta and glide past Palladian villas and beautiful Venetian palazzi on your way to visit the area’s old grain mills or, (for groups), vineyards in the Euganean Hills.
Via Porciglia 34, Padova (049 8760233 www.battellidelbrenta.it).
Head to the hills
Up in Sappada in the mountains of Belluno, lies one of Italy’s best kept gastronomic secrets. In their restaurant Laite, husband and wife team Roberto and Fabrizia (the chef) soothe hungry souls with boldly creative but convincing cuisine.
Via Hoffe, 10 (0435 469070 www.ristorantelaite.com).
Toss back a Grappa
No trip to Bassano del Grappa is complete without a visit to the town’s bridge and the best known grappa stop in Italy: Grapperia Nardini. Try their mandorla or intriguing herb-scented tagliatella.
Ponte Vecchio 2, (0424 227741 www.nardini.it)
Take the opportunity to turn your trip at Bassano del Grappa into a magic stay in the luxury hotel of <--!-->Ca' Sette<--!-->.
Spice things up!
Tucked into a small street in the Cannaregio quarter of Venice is the wonderfully old-fashioned Spezieria all’Ercole d’Oro. A veritable Aladdin’s cave of herbs and spices, staff are delighted to share their expertise.
Cannaregio – Strada Nuova, 2233a (041 720600).
Enjoy a secret
To experience Italy at its very best, treat yourself to an opera at Verona’s fabulous arena. For pre-show snacks or an early dinner, Enoteca Segretais only a few minutes away and offers a good selection of wines by the glass accompanied by excellent local cheeses served with spicy mostarda and homemade conserves Enoteca Segreta, Vicolo Samaritana, 10 (045 8015824 www.enotecasegreta.com and www.arena.it).
While in Verona, you could combine a special dinner at Le gemme di Artemisia restaurant (www.legemmediartemisia.it) and a stay in Verona at Il Borghetto - Via Raffaello Sanzio 14/A, Borghetto di Valeggio sul Mincio (045 7952040 www.borghetto.it).
Visit Vicenza
Apart from its stunning Teatro Olimpico and wealth of Palladian architecture, Vicenza is also the best place to do justice to a plate of baccalà.
Eat it manticata (creamed), eat italla vicentina with polenta, but eat it!
(www.baccalaallavicentina.it).
Languish at a lake
Some excursions deserve to be savoured. Pack a bottle of good Valpolicella and a selection of Veneto cheeses and soppressa and head for the spectacular Lago di Misurina near Cortina d’Ampezzo for a picnic you’ll never forget.
(belluno@infodolomiti.it or www.apt-dolomiti-cortina.it).
Dine in style
Indulgence doesn’t come any purer than this. Put yourself in the gifted hands of the youngest chef in Italy ever to receive three Michelin stars, Massimiliano Alajmo, at his restaurant Le Calandre. Whether you try his saffron risotto with liquorice powder or the roast pigeon with black truffle, radicchio and pear cream (image, at top of page), a meal at this restaurant is an inimitable experience.
Via Liguria 1, Loc. Sarmeola, Rubano (049 630303 www.calandre.com).
Don't miss Murano glass
Treat yourself to a few days in the elegant XVI century building of Villa Lina. Situated on the island of Murano, you will discover the glass crafts tradition and enjoy stunning views across the Venetian lagoon.
12, Calle dietro gli Orti, Murano (041 5275358).
Visit a monastery
The Benedictine Abbazia di Praglia is a peaceful monastery nestled in the hills near Abano Terme. After a tour of the abbey and its church’s attractive cloister, be sure to visit the shop where you can stock up on the monks’ famed honeys, liqueurs, and herbal teas.
7, Via Abbazia di Praglia, Bresseo di Teòlo (049 9900010 www.praglia.it).
Stock up on pasta
Pastificio Rizzoin Venice sells pastas flavoured with lemon, cocoa, broccoli, Curaçao and coffee. Something for all tastes!
San Giovanni Grisostomo, Cannaregio, 5778.
Start winning!
Go on a wine tour of the beautiful Valpolicella region and stop for tastings at wineries to sample the area’s famed Amarone wine. Avventure Bellissime Tours offers various packages and, on request, will combine your tour with a guided tour of Verona or lunch.
2442/A San Marco, Venice (041 5208616 www.tours-italy.com).
Revel in risotto
Head for Isola della Scalanear Verona, home to Italy’s prized Vialone Nano rice.There you can visit the Melotti family’s riseria,their shop, and their restaurant where the entire menu is based on their home-produced rice. Riseria Melotti,
Via Tondello, 59(045 7300444 www.melotti.it).
Be brave!
Give unusual foods a chance – when in Veneto, eat like the veneti! In Padua try their sfilacci di cavallo (shredded dried horse meat), in Venice eat moleche (soft-shelled crabs) and eels, and when in Vicenza, nothing less than polenta e cotechino (polenta with pork skin) will do. Buon appetito!
Eat at a castle
Famous for the extravagant human chess game played out in its chequered main square, Marosticais an attractive medieval fortified town that merits a visit. Stop off at the restaurant in the upper castle to try their duck breast with asparagus or pork with pink pepper.
Ristorante al Castello Superiore, Via Cansignorio della Scala (0424 73315, www.castellosuperiore.it).
Visit an oil museum
The fascinating oleificio and oil museum of Cisano del Garda also has a shop that sells Cisano’s own excellent oil along with local wines, grappas, vinegars and conserves.
Via Peschiera 54 (045 6229047 www.museum.it).
People watch in Padua
Caffè Pedrocchi, near Padua’s Piazza dei Frutti, is the perfect place to sit and watch the world go by. If you get comfortable, try their coffee flavoured tagliatelle with scampi or take in one of their concerts or lectures.
Via VIII Febbraio 15 (049 8781231 www.caffepedrocchi.it).
Take a coffee break
A visit to Trevisoin radicchio season is a must, but it’s also a town of excellent coffee.
Both Caffè De Checchi, behind the Duomo, and Non Solo Franco Caffè just off Piazza dei Signori offer absolutely first rate espressos.
Caffè De Checchi – Via Calmaggiore, 56; Non Solo Franco Caffè – Piazza G. Carducci, 2.
Go to a fish market
Chioggia’s lively fish market is a fabulous place to watch boats arrive with their catch, crates passed swiftly from boat to shore by yelling fishermen. Get there early to enjoy the market at its best. (Closed Mondays.)
Via Giovanni Poli, 1/b (041 400261 www.ittico.chioggia.org).
A new village in Jesolo
Try to combine your visit at the main cultural events around Venice with the Laguna Park holiday residence: beautiful italian design and finish, provided with all comforts and just 300 metres to the beach. Make it part of your plans if you want to spend either a relaxing week-end in Lido di Jesolo or thinking of a great investment.
Via XIII Martiri (346 79 93 144 www.lagunapark-jesolo.com ).
